Chase in Casey’s future

No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Alan Gustafson and his new driver, Casey Mears, discuss setup in the garage during the first day of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway.Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

With the departure of Kyle Busch to Joe Gibbs Racing, Casey Mears inherits the No. 5 Chevrolet team, which has qualified for the Chase the past two years, at Hendrick Motorsports.
For a driver who has won one race in those two years, qualifying for the Chase might be a hefty order. But expectations will be high for Mears, especially at Hendrick Motorsports, a team that has won the past two Cup championships and has six between drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
“I’ve always felt like I need to win, you know, I mean, from the time I started in racing,” Mears said to the media during testing at Daytona International Speedway. “I’ve never raced and been satisfied with being mediocre at best. I think ever since I came to this level, you know, with the first team I was with, now being at Hendrick Motorsports, anything that I ran before I came to this level, we won races and did well. It’s been frustrating the first few years I’ve had in this sport.”
Hendrick Motorsports won half the Cup races last year, with Johnson leading the way with 10. Gordon had six with Mears and Busch each winning one. Mears won the Coca-Cola 600 last year. But he was the only driver from Hendrick who didn’t qualify for the Chase.
“But now I really feel like being with Hendrick Motorsports, got a win under my belt last year, obviously I think going into this year, like we’ve said, I feel like we’re a lot more prepared to be successful out of the gate,” Mears said. “The fact that they’ve had the success in the 5 team the last couple years doesn’t make me nervous, it kind of makes my excited. I get really excited at the opportunity, the fact that these guys have been there, done it, the experience is there.”
Mears said his team “can definitely make the Chase this year.” He even went so far as to say his team can contend for the championship. Every driver in the Chase has a legitimate shot at the Cup once the 10-race playoff starts. But making the Chase will be the challenge for Mears.
“Obviously our goals are high this year,” Mears said. “We want to make the Chase. I feel like we definitely need to make the Chase, and then we’ll go from there.”